Veteran Pakistan Wicketkeeper batter Kamran Akmal has lashed out at Pakistan Cricket Board for not supporting injured Shaheen Afridi in his rehabilitation in London.
In a video uploaded on his YouTube Channel on Saturday, Akmal claimed that Shahid Afridi was forced to speak about Shaheen bearing all his expenses on rehab because the Pakistani board didn’t make any arrangements. He mentioned that the former captain wouldn’t have made such a statement if PCB had supported its star player.
Akmal also threw light on how Shaheen was forced to travel with the team to the Netherlands and also to the Asia Cup 2022 in the UAE despite his injury. He opined that the medical team wasted a lot of time, which is why the pacer decided to go to London for his treatment.
Akmal said, “The PCB chairman must sack the guys responsible for the Shaheen Afridi fiasco. Did Ramiz Raja ask if Afridi’s treatment was happening under the PCB’s supervision? What about the travel and accommodation expenses?”
“Shahid Afridi would never have made such a statement if PCB had paid for all the expenses. He spoke because PCB hasn’t done anything. The medical team initially wasted 35-40 days by making him travel with the team,” he added.
Akmal further stated that the seamer would have been fully fit for the seven-match home T20I series against England if he had left for London earlier. He further blamed PCB’s medical staff for mishandling the team’s premier bowler by not providing him with proper treatment.
“Shaheen was forced to go to London as PCB’s medical team didn’t provide him any proper treatment. He did the right thing by departing for London instead of wasting more time. If he had made this decision a bit earlier, he would have been playing the home series against England. Just two days after reaching London, he was able to resume his training. Whereas, the PCB medical team made him tape his knee when he was at the ICC Academy. This shows how incompetent the medical staff is,” the wicketkeeper batter added.
